AUGUSTA – Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, Maine’s top election official, has confirmed that the tabulation of results in the Congressional District 2 race will require the ranked-choice voting process.

This race is one of three in the Nov. 6, 2018 election that is subject to ranked-choice voting, which requires that the winner must win by more than 50% of the vote on Election Night, or the process moves into elimination rounds. Based on press reports, unofficial results from the other two races, for U.S. Senate and Congressional District 1, show candidates winning with majorities on Election Night, but none of the CD2 candidates appear to have won with a majority of the ballots cast:

Congressional District 2 Candidate

Unofficial Vote Tally

Percentage of Total Votes Cast

Tiffany Bond (I)

15,200

5.7%

Jared Golden (D)

122,871

45.9%

William Hoar (I)

6,371

2.4%

Bruce Poliquin (R)

123,539

46.1%

The Elections staff will now proceed with the ranked-choice voting tabulation process. Ballot collection will begin Thursday throughout Congressional District 2 and the processing of the ballot materials is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 9 at the centralized tabulation site in the Elkins Building (on the former AMHI campus), 19 Elkins Lane, Augusta.

Secretary of State Department staff members must log, unlock and unseal each ballot box from hand count towns to scan the ballots using a high-speed tabulator; and log, unseal and upload all the memory devices from tabulator towns and cities before loading all the votes into the results program and then certifying the results to ensure accuracy. The final, official results of the RCV tabulation will be released as soon as they are available, likely during the week of November 12. Dates are subject to change and the public will be updated during the process.

Tabulation will begin Friday, Nov. 9 and continue during regular business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and will include Saturday, Nov. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Veterans Day holiday, Monday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., until completion of the tabulation process. This is a public proceeding and press are welcome, so long as they remain within the public area. *Members of the press who are seeking images of the ballot drop-off process, beginning late Thursday afternoon, are advised that couriers will be using the D2 loading dock to deliver ballots, which is on the opposite side of the building from the public entrance.